Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Final Trash Count

Aloha Trashy Talking Turtlers!
As promised, I am sending you one last note on the amount of trash that we have collected since June 1, 2010.

Nancy Fahey
From Sept. 1-15, Nancy monitored our beach by ATV. During her early morning rides, she stopped and collected a total of 45 bags of trash. Now that is leading by example. On her runs, she found almost 30 balloons, three dirty diapers, a pair of boxers, a pair of well-worn sneakers, 31 cans of Bud (in one location) and a dive fin.

Dick and Linda Chapman
Veteran volunteers Dick and Linda Chapman collected one and a half bags of trash on Labor Day in Zone 1. Thank you, Dick and Linda.

Our grand total from June 1 to Sept. 15 is 569.74 bags of trash. Unbelievable!
Thank you all so much for being such wonderful stewards of our earth and our oceans.

WBSTP on Facebook.
WBSTP volunteer Susan Miller has been doing a wonderful job authoring the WBSTP Facebook page. If you have not already done so, please check it out at http://www.facebook.com/pages/Wrightsville-Beach-Sea-Turtle-Project/125348617482148?ref=ts. Susan is planning to continue Turtle Trivia Tuesdays. Susan also plans to continue to post information that is relevant to the sea turtle community.

Cigarette Surprise
A whopping 1,833 cigarette butts collected at Public Beach Access No. 20 on WB in just 20 minutes. Yes, you read that right.
Danielle Richardet who authors http://www.itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/ picks up litter on WB for 20 minutes a day and documents her findings. She has been counting the number of cigarette butts that she collects each time. On Saturday, Sept. 18, she, her husband and her three small children visited Access No. 20—between Johnnie Mercer’s Pier and Stone Street—and collected 1,833 butts. Please visit her blog site to see the pictures! http://www.itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/
Danielle and her family have collected a total of 5,395 butts in just 11 days at 20 minutes a day. How much more evidence could we possibly need that a smoking ban is a great idea?
Did you know that cigarette butts are made from plastic and they are the number one littered item? The truth is in the numerous data sources that support this information.
John and I decided to join Danielle's efforts. On Sunday, we went to Public Beach Access No. 32 and picked up litter for 20 minutes. We picked up 1 pound, 7.3 ounces of trash including 142 cigarette butts, two cigar tips, a pair of socks, two balloons, 20 bottle caps and lots of straws. We sent our information to Danielle and also to The Daily Ocean, which can be viewed at http://www.thedailyocean.blogspot.com/. Feel free to join this exciting movement of fighting litter.

WBSTP Blog
We are very thankful to Lumina News for posting our newsletters on their website. Please consider visiting the luminanews.com website, click on the Sea Turtle Project Blog and become a follower.

Big Sweep
The Big Sweep is Saturday, Sept. 25 at Wrightsville Beach. We will be manning the table at Public Beach Access No. 4. Please come and volunteer; we would love to see you. Also, we will have random drawings for reusable bags, a reusable bottle and a WBSTP t-shirt!

Take care, continue to do good work, enjoy your loved ones and hope to see you all soon!

Sincerely,
Ginger Taylor

Monday, September 13, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers


Hi, all.  Yes, it is another Trashy Talking Turtler newsletter.  And why not?  Nancy Fahey is still out there every morning on her ATV looking for nests and picking up trash. It also gives me a reason to connect with you all again.

Nancy adds to our total:
Nancy has been going strong for nine days and although she has not found any new turtle tracks, she has found plenty of human tracks. Since Sept. 1, she has collected 27 bags of trash. So, this brings our total to 523.24 bags of trash.

Balloons and Wrightsville Beach
Nancy has also kept track of the number of balloons she has collected from our shore and so far her total is 24! This lets us all know that we have some educating to do.

I was at the WB BOA meeting tonight to show off some trash (more about that below) and at the end of the meeting Mayor Cignotti and the BOA members briefly discussed "the turtle people" and the balloons. It was pointed out that there is an ordinance about having balloons as decorations, but they may look into ordinances about releasing balloons at the beach.
After the meeting, I went home and googled WB balloon ordinance. I have not yet come across an ordinance about balloons, but this doesn't mean there isn’t one. However, I did come across an application for people who want to have a celebration or event on the beach. It clearly states on that balloons are not to be used for decorations. I was so excited about this, perhaps more so that the BOA may look more into this issue.
 Thank you, Nancy. Keep up the good work.

Trash at BOA
I have been saving some of my trash. Because most of the trash collected was too disgusting to keep, I of course did not keep it all. However, I did keep 1/3 to half of our trash with the idea that it would be educational at some point. 
I, of course, kept toys and toy parts, plastic bottles, glass bottles, aluminum cans, cup lids and random junk. I have also kept 143 bottle caps (water, beer, soda, and suntan lotion), 103 straws (33 of which are kids juice box straws—no, I did not keep all of the cellophane straw wrappers, but you know we have all picked up tons of those), 60 pieces of fireworks remnants (I am sad to say that we left just as many on the beach because we did not have time to get them all), six balloons, four cigarette lighters, two cigar tips, 10 plastic spoons, one plastic fork, one plastic knife, one stainless steel knife, one pairing knife that was suspiciously slid inside of an empty sharpie pen case, five tubes of chapstick, 11 plastic cup lids, nine hair accessories and the list goes on and on.
I brought this marvelous display of organized trash to the Cleaner Greener Committee and it was suggested to show it to the BOA. So, I did. I have to say that I did not have a lot of time to prepare, but I went anyway. I also prepared a graph which I have attached here to show how much trash was picked up in each zone and how many days out of a possible 92 days that trash was collected per zone.  I hope you find the graph and information interesting. You may have to download the graph in order to view it.

WBSTP listed on Santa Monica, Calif., blog
Yes, you are getting to be famous now. If you have been reading the newsletter, you know Danielle and her "It Starts With Me" blog. Through talking with her, I learned that she came across the idea when she saw Sara's Daily Ocean blog. Sara lives in California and made a goal to document the trash that she collects on the beach there. Please go to her blog to learn more http://www.thedailyocean.blogspot.com/.  Danielle has become friends with Sara and mentioned our group to her. Sara became a follower on the Lumina News website’s sea turtle news blog and mentioned us on her Santa Monica blog. It really is amazing how people can be united for a common purpose.
To view Sara's comment on WBSTP, scroll down to her entry on Sept. 3rd.

Saving Plastic Bottle Caps
Since saving the plastic bottle caps on the beach, I have two requests for them. One person is collecting them for recycled art projects and another person is collecting them to raise money for cancer awareness.
If you continue to pick up litter and would like to save your caps, please do. I will be happy to collect them and redistribute for a good cause.

More to Come
Since Nancy is still out on the beach, I will have at least one more update on her total trash report.

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Week 13

Hello Trashy Talking Turtlers,

It is with mixed emotions that I write this final newsletter. Although I am looking forward to not having a deadline or the pressure to get the newsletter done, I will miss checking my email and seeing all the kindred messages from you all. I remember feeling disappointed once turtle season ended last year and the only emails I seemed to get were junk mail.
And, of course, I would not be honest if I did not say that I am somewhat disappointed that Wrightsville Beach did not see more nesting activity this year.
However, I am very excited and proud of the work that the WBSTP volunteers have done in terms of cleaning our beach and helping our oceans to be a safer habitat for all marine life. And I am just as excited about the nesting activity across the state. According to http://www.seaturtle.org/, North Carolina has 845 reported nests so far!

Numbers for Week 13
Note: There are nine days this week, so we will add 12 zones (six per day) making the total number of zones 54 instead of the usual 42.
We picked up trash in 27 of the 52 zones (50%)
Zone 0 = 2.83 bags
Zone 1 = 4 bags
Zone 2 = 5 bags
Zone 3 = 7 bags
Zone 4 = 5.25 bags
Zone 5 = 5.5 bags
Total Number of Bags for Week 13 = 29.58
Grand Total from June 1 – Aug. 31, 2010 = 496.24 bags of trash—not including items too large to fit into bags.
Please give yourself a hand, high-five, pat on the back and take a bow. You definitely deserve it. Job well done. The earth thanks you!

Work Continues for Nancy Fahey
Although we may be finished monitoring the beach by foot, Nancy Fahey, our tireless leader, will continue to monitor the beach by ATV through September 15th. We should all send her positive sea turtle thoughts because you never know with the turtles. Not only is Nancy monitoring for nests, but she is also taking time to pick up trash. In just two days, she has collected 11 bags of trash. If we added that to our grand total, we would have 507.24 bags of trash. Among the trash Nancy has collected, she has picked up at least 12 balloons in two days.
I know we have talked about balloons before, but one more time won't hurt, right?
Letting balloons go is pretty cool to young kids and they love to watch the balloons float into the sky. I remember when I was in elementary school—yes, I can still remember that far back—we released balloons with our addresses inside hoping for pen pals. It was a project that I enjoyed very much. However, in that lesson about helium, no one ever taught me about the risks to the environment when a balloon deflates, lands and becomes trash that breaks down into toxic particles or is ingested by wildlife. Perhaps we did not know back then about the detrimental effects of letting balloons go, but now we do. So, we can either ignore this knowledge or face it head on like Nancy did yesterday.
Yesterday, after collecting more balloons from our shore, Nancy learned from two different sources that a local agency in Wilmington had released lots and lots of balloons to celebrate the success of their clients. Being the true environmental and sea turtle advocate that Nancy is, she picked up the phone and called the agency. She explained her concerns with the release of the balloons, including the example this sets to other agencies and individuals who may use the release of balloons as a symbol of celebration. Nancy pointed out that sea turtles and other marine life often ingest balloons for food and become very sick. She also explained that marine life can become entangled in the ribbons that are attached to the balloons and often become injured or die as a result. Nancy encouraged the representative from the agency to go to http://www.seaturtlehospital.org/ and view the picture on the homepage of the balloons that have been passed by some of the sea turtles that have been rehabilitated at the hospital.
The agency representative was very open to what Nancy had to say and left Nancy with the feeling that the agency would not release balloons in the future. And to be fair to the agency, they did take the extra steps to special order biodegradable balloons and also used raffia instead of ribbon. Nancy did thank the agency for their consideration of the environment, but encouraged them to celebrate in a different way in the future such as releasing butterflies, planting trees or planting a field of wildflowers. We know that even if items are biodegradable, they are still litter (paper is biodegradable, but if it is on the ground, it is still litter) and just because items are biodegradable, it does not mean that it is safe for wildlife.
As Nancy and I were discussing this situation, we thought of all the times people release balloons on the beach during celebrations or even during memorial events. The idea occurred to us that it would be nice if WB had an ordinance against releasing balloons on the beach. It really seems like such an innocent gesture, but if individuals were aware of the consequences of this one act on the environment, many would abandon it all together.
Thank you, Nancy, for advocating and educating on behalf of our planet!

It starts with me!
I have highlighted Danielle's blog several times in this newsletter and yet I feel compelled to do so again. I am so impressed and inspired by her dedication to clean litter from Wrightsville Beach that I am thinking about joining her. Why not pick up cigarette butts for 20 minutes a day, two days a week? Danielle and her family have picked up 2,171 cigarette butts in just seven days.
I will definitely keep reading her blog and I encourage others to do the same. Danielle has a great way of writing about and photographing the typical trash that we see on the beach when walking. If you look at the pictures on her blog, you will surely recognize items that you, too, have collected. She is definitely a kindred spirit.
One more reason to check out her blog today is that she wrote about the sea turtles and has a picture of our potential nest. Thank you, Danielle, for bringing attention to this issue. When I originally wrote the draft for this newsletter, the blog about the sea turtles was not yet posted. So, you can imagine that when I checked the blog this morning before correcting the final draft, I was excited and had to include it here: http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/.

Stay Tuned
WBSTP and Surfrider Foundation are joining forces to help keep America beautiful with the Big Sweep on Saturday, Sept. 25. We will need volunteers to make it a big success. It will be very exciting to join the community in an effort to clean our beaches and waterways. Please stay tuned for ways in which you can help. I will be contacting you via email very soon.

Mahalo
A sincere thank you to all of you who have monitored sea turtle activity before sunrise; to those of you who have missed the sunrise because you were bent over the sand picking up trash; to those of you who walked the beach with your significant other, but could not hold their hand because your hand was carrying a trash bag; and to those who inspired and educated others about sea turtles and litter. You are all saints!
I think about all the trash we have collected—some of it was fresh and some of it had been spit out by the ocean and was covered in barnacles and sea life. Renee mentioned that it seemed the ocean was giving us another chance to pick up the litter that was spit back at us. I like this thought. Isn't that such a positive way to think about the litter that comes back to us from the ocean? It is as if Mother Ocean trusts us enough to help and protect her. Indeed, we will.

So, I feel I must once again include the "Sea Turtle Zen" from the book Animal Speak:
“...Turtles remind us that the way to heaven is through the earth. In Mother Earth is all that we need. She will care for us, protect us, and nurture us, as long as we do the same for her. For that to happen we must slow down and heighten our sensibilities. We must see the connection to all things. Just as the turtle cannot separate itself from its shell, neither can we separate ourselves from what we do to the Earth...”

Peace and Blessings,
Ginger Taylor

Wednesday, September 1, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Week 12

Trashy Talking Turtlers

Week 12:Aug. 16 - Aug. 22, 2010
Hello and Kudos Trashy Talking Turtlers!

As the summer is winding down, so is the amount of trash that we are seeing on the beach. And that is a good thing.
Together, you have collected 458. 16 bags of trash so far this season. But, that's not all. You have also saved toys for children who need them and donated them to various centers around town, you have collected shoes and donated them to be mailed to families in other countries who are unable to afford shoes, and you have washed towels and donated them to the Sea Turtle Hospital, animal shelters and veterinarian offices. Thank you for all of your hard work.

Numbers for Week 12:
We picked up trash in 22 of the 42 zones (52%)
Zone 0 = 1. 5 bags
Zone 1 = 2. 75 bags
Zone 2 = 4 bags
Zone 3 = 8 bags
Zone 4 = 7. 5 bags
Zone 5 = 7 bags
Total for Week 12 = 30. 75 bags
Grand Total since June 1 = 458. 16 bags of trash—not including the endless amounts of trash that did not fit into the bags.

Your reports:
Zone 0 had one Styrofoam cup and two scraps of paper. Laraine was so in need of finding trash she picked up two bird feathers. -Abrons, Butler and Doss
Hi Ginger,
I walked Zone 1 for Hank and Allison. During my trek, I did not find turtle tracks, but I did find about one grocery bag full of trash. This included a box of matches and a long piece of kite string that had been cut into pieces. Additionally, on my way south, I noticed a "camp" that included several beach chairs and towels, two umbrellas, a raft, plastic bags along with other empty food containers including an empty can of Bud, etc. The site looked recently used, so thinking the owners were swimming or searching for shells, I didn't disturb anything. On my way back, I saw Officer Chris Swartz of WBPD checking out the site. Come to find out the collection belonged to a homeless person that has been inhabiting the beach in recent weeks. After being chased away from Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, he must have moved his apartment north to Zone 1. According to Chris, this assortment of items had been gathered by this guy a bit at a time. While some of it may have come from the trash, parts of it looked fairly decent. Unbeknownst to us, this guy has apparently been hoarding many of the items left behind by others. No wonder some of our volunteers think the beach seems cleaner! -Nancy

Good Morning,
Wow, Zone 4 was a busy area this morning (maybe it is like that everyday). I found the following:
1 set of house keys on a long purple string (I turned this into the police department)
1 toy shovel
1 pair of goggles
2 beach chairs
1 towel
3 beer bottles
2 soda cans
1 wooden and metal umbrella pole about 4 feet long
Lots of cigarette butts, plastic bottle caps and plastic wrappers
I also found at least 10 holes that I was able to fill in. And then there was one "hole" about 12 feet long, 3 feet deep in sections, and in the shape of an “S.” I tried my best to fill it in, but it can still use some help. Maybe the volunteer that walks Zone 4 tomorrow can work on it a little. It is just south of the water tower and in front of a light blue house. Have a great day. -Michelle Leonard

When John and I walked Zone 4 on Wednesday, we collected three bags of trash which always contain plastic firework remnants in front of the Blockade Runner Beach Resort by the volleyball court. But sadly, we also found five baby stingrays between the volleyball court and the dune line. Of course, they were dead and I am so confused about that. We know the tide did not wash them up to the dune line, so why are they there and how did they die? It was very disturbing. But even more disturbing is that when I walked Zone 4 today (a week later) the baby rays were still there. There are always things that cannot be explained and I find events like this to be one of them.
On down the beach in Zone 4, we saw the Great Wall of China. I'm pretty excited that I can find the Grand Canyon and The Great Wall of China without ever leaving WB! Why would you want to vacation anywhere else? The builder of this project built a wall that was about 2-3 feet high that snaked up and down the sand for about 12 feet. I'm fairly certain this is the same wall that Michelle saw on Saturday—3 days later. If a sea turtle had tried to nest in that area, it would have ran headfirst into one of those "S" curves, would have had a difficult time turning around, and would have surely not laid a nest, possibly even becoming trapped there. The Great Wall was built right in front of a cabana that had been left overnight. The cabana had tire marks beside it, but had not been ticketed.

Hello Ginger,
I picked up one bag of trash, but saw a ton of cigarette butts. Also, there were a lot of holes this week. They were deep, but not too wide. On the very south end there were some people with two dogs. I called it in but I don't think the officer was able to catch them. Or he just told them to leave without a citation. There was also one cabana with an overflowing trashcan next to it. It looked like they moved in for the weekend and then just left everything behind. There is even a trashcan under all that stuff.

Frustration is mounting in Zone 5 as chairs from the Oceanic continue to be found along the shoreline every week. I cannot stress enough how dangerous beach furniture is to marine life when it gets washed out to sea. Not only are the chairs plastic, which will break down into smaller pieces and release toxins, but sea life easily becomes entangled in beach furniture, where they become stressed, unable to escape and eventually die. Oceanic, please remove your chairs from the beach strand at night. All the sea life will thank you.

Chuck found a life preserver in Zone 5 this week. I'm thinking it may be a symbol of hope or thanks from Mother Ocean for all you guys are doing to help keep her healthy.

Driving for Trash vs. Walking for Trash
I heard a couple of comments last week about different people driving down the beach to assess the trash situation and determining that the litter problem did not seem that bad. I find this hard to believe. If that’s true, then where does 458.16 bags of trash and 1,167 cigarette butts come from if the litter problem is not that bad? Check out http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com if you don’t believe it.

I find it rather difficult to not be offended for all of the volunteers who choose to spend their time cleaning trash from WB only to have others comment that the trash is not that bad. What about people like Bobby Brandon who choose to take to the streets with his own bags, brooms and gloves to clean up the mess? What about people like Danielle who teaches her children stewardship of the Earth by taking them to the beach to pick up cigarette butts? Wonder if they would say the litter is not that bad? Wonder if people did not volunteer their time to pick up the trash if the litter would seem that bad? Wonder if all the people and organizations who are studying and researching the "garbage patch" would agree that the litter situation is not that bad?

So, anyway, being offended will get me nowhere and doesn’t do anything to help the situation. So, I am trying to get to a point of understanding and develop a new attitude. Sometimes you want to see a problem for yourself to determine what the situation is. So, driving the length of the beach strand would seem like a good idea as you get to cover the entire length of the beach. However, volunteers who participate in litter clean-up can attest to the fact that when you are walking on the beach, it is much easier to see all the trash and bits that are partially buried in the sand than it is viewing from inside a vehicle. You cannot cover as much area in as short amount of time as you can driving the beach, but it is much more effective to walk and that is why it takes a large number of volunteers to clean the beach.

I would like to invite anyone who is interested in assessing the litter situation to walk the beach early in the morning for 1-2 miles south of Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, from mid-June to mid-August. Although, the litter situation may seem improved over years past, it remains a very serious problem. If we stick our heads in the sand and try to ignore it, we will find that our heads are stuck in trash!

A special thank you to all individuals, volunteers, town officials, town employees, residents and tourists who practice being good stewards of the Earth and her Oceans. You are amazing!

"May there be so many sea turtles in our oceans one day that we have to dodge them when we go swimming!"---Jean Beasley, Founder of Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital, Topsail Island, NC

Tuesday, August 31, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Week 11

Week 11: Aug. 9 – Aug. 15, 2010
Aloha Trashy Talking Turtlers!

Let's Talk Trashy Numbers:
From time to time, some of the volunteers will say to me that they forgot to email their trash reports and did not send them because I had already written the newsletter. Please do not worry if you are late—I completely understand that life gets busy. Sometimes, volunteers will email their numbers the next week and I include them in the grand total, which is why—if you are reading carefully—the grand totals never completely add up. Also, sometimes I may overlook one of your emails or file it into the wrong folder. Once I realize this, I will add those numbers into the grand total. Such was the case this week. Kym Davidson sent me an email last week and reported six bags of trash in Zone 5. I read her email, but misfiled it and did not catch it until this week. So, those 6 bags will be added to the grand total in this newsletter.
So, please remember, it is never too late to send in your numbers; they will always be counted.

Also, someone had a question about the 42 zones. If we only pick up trash in Zones 0-5, where do I get the 42 zones? I multiply the number of zones (6) by the number of days in the week (7). We monitor for nests in each zone every day. Thus we have 42 opportunities—or zones—to collect litter from the beach.
Thank you so much for all of the hard work you have been doing.

Numbers for Week 11:
We picked up trash in 23 of the 42 zones (55%)
Zone 0 = 4.58 bags
Zone 1 = 7.83 bags
Zone 2 = 5.75 bags
Zone 3 = 7 bags
Zone 4 = 6.5 bags
Zone 5 = 5.5 bags
Total for Week 11 = 37.16
Grand Total since June 1 = 427.41 bags of trash—not including items too large for bags.

Trash vs. Treasure:
Hi Ginger,
I collected two bags of trash on Monday. There were a lot of plastic bottle tops and plastic tidbits. It looked like a lot of the trash had been returned to the beach from the ocean. There was a line of grass and "junk" around the high tide mark. It looked like everything had been thrown around in the ocean before ending up back on the beach. I figured the ocean was giving us a second chance to pick things up.

Hi Ginger,
I collected one grocery bag of trash and lots of plastic wrappers from juice box straws. I guess there must have been a kid convention on the beach!

Hi Ginger,
We had one and a half Wal-Mart bags today in Zone 2. The litter is so much better than in past years. Keep up the good work. In fact, last week we saw a man picking up litter on his own, and today a woman and child were picking it up. -Pam

Sara and I collected a third of a kitchen garbage bag in Zone 2 on Thursday. The beach did not seem too bad with the exception of cigarette butts. Hundreds!

We found one large garbage bag of trash and a phone which we dropped off at the police station where the owner picked it up later. -Bonnie

This morning was a gorgeous morning on the beach. I collected three bags of litter in Zone 3 today. Most of the trash seemed to be pretty typical—soda cans, water bottles, small plastic sand toys, etc. There seemed to be an innumerable amount of plastic straws, plastic water bottle caps and those little plastic rings that come off the top of soda and water bottles. These were everywhere!
The largest amount of trash that I found was right next to Johnnie Mercer's Pier. It appeared that someone had a nighttime beach party and just left their garbage in the sand. I collected a whole bag of trash here—probably 12-14 beer cans and bottles, some empty and some full. I came across this spot at about 7:30 a.m. as I was finishing up for the day. By that time there was a small group of sunbathers and beach goers who had already assembled here. They all watched me pick up the trash but no one got up to help. That was a little disheartening.
Lastly, believe it or not, I found two sea turtles in the sand this morning. But alas, they were only plastic toys. Honestly, when I found these toys on two different areas of the beach I thought it was a sign. But, unfortunately, still no tracks.

Hi Ginger,
Here is my trash report for Zone 1:
Three grocery bags of trash—bottle caps, plastic wrappers, cigarette butts, candy wrappers, tissues, hand wipes, etc.
2 abandoned canopies
1 boogie board
1 pair of child's Crocs
1 beach towel
1 pair of men's underwear
1 pair of boy's underwear
Several plastic toys/buckets
4 soda cans
Several "four-letter words" scratched in the sand in BIG letters. I took care of that with my feet.
Has anyone ever asked the Shell Island Resort if their staff could police the trash on their beach? -Terri

Zone 0
I filled a third of a grocery bag with mostly bottle lids, straws, etc., and one pair of men's boxer shorts. (Hey, it happens!) -Jill

I collected one and a half bags of trash and one and a half bags of recyclables and treasures (beach toys) in Zone 5 today. I found lots of bottles and cans. Also, the receptacles at Crystal Pier were overflowing and a pile of clothes and shoes beside the cans that was there last week, still remained. Were the cans not emptied all week? It seems like a weekend trash run would be helpful in controlling litter overflow. As always, thanks! -Kym

In general, several of you reported men's boxers or underwear this week. Perhaps it was the full moon? Also, there was quite a bit of dog poop reported in Zones 4 and 5. Nancy Faye Craig even cleaned it up in Zone 5 while she was subbing for another volunteer. Thank you for being such a trooper, Nancy.

It All Starts With Me:
Last week I included Danielle's blog about the number of cigarette butts she is collecting on WB. On Tuesday, Aug. 17, she collected 409 butts in 20 minutes. This gives her a grand total of 952 butts in 3 days or 60 minutes. This number will hopefully help convince town officials that banning smoking on the beach is a good thing. You can follow Danielle's blog at: http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/. I thought about Danielle this week as I was walking in Zone 4 because I came across a spot with 15 cigarette butts sticking straight out of the sand.

Plastic Bags:
As we know, plastic never biodegrades, it just breaks into smaller and smaller pieces and becomes a toxic part of our ecosystem. It takes a lot of energy and resources to even produce plastic bags that are single use and then thrown away. I think about going to the grocery store vs. going to Costco or Sam's Club where they do not give you plastic bags. If I can put my items in the cart without a bag at Costco or Sam's Club, why not do the same at the grocery store? Of course, using a reusable bag makes it easier, but sometimes I find myself without my reusable bags when I am at the store.
It is estimated that if one person switches to reusable bags vs. plastic bags, then they would reduce plastic bags by 6 in one week, or 24 in one month, or 288 in a year, or 22,176 in a lifetime (77 years). If one in five people in the US switched to reusable bags, then we would reduce plastic bag consumption by 1,330,560,000,000 over our lifetime.
To learn more, please click on the following link to view a short video:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ci9PC8s-r2Q&feature=related

Sea Turtle Hospital and Sea Turtle Camp:
f you have not visited the Sea Turtle Hospital on Topsail Island, I highly recommend it. Tours only last a few more weeks and the hours are every day from 2-4 p.m., except for Wednesday and Sunday. To avoid a long line, try going on Saturday when beach tourists are either just arriving at the beach or leaving the beach and do not have as much time to visit the hospital.
Besides being open to the public for tours, the Sea Turtle Hospital offers several opportunities for education, including training interns and offering special programs for camps and other groups. One such camp is the Sea Turtle Camp. I have included the link to Sea Turtle Camp below because it has an awesome video of Jean Beasley talking about sea turtles and it also includes incredible footage of a sea turtle release. Once you click on the link, the video will be in the center of the home page. It only lasts a couple of minutes.
http://www.seaturtlecamp.com/

Thank you, Vito's!
On Monday night, many of us were treated to free pizza at Vito's. I think it is fair to say that we all had a great time and we missed those who were unable to attend. Thank you, Vito's.

Wednesday, August 18, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Week 10

Trashy Talking Turtlers

Week 10:  Aug. 2 - Aug. 8, 2010

Hello Trashy Talking Turtlers!
It has been a busy week, so I will get straight to the numbers.

Numbers for Week 10:
We picked up trash in 22 of the 42 zones (52%)
Zone 0 = 5.5 bags
Zone 1 = 7 bags
Zone 2 = 2.75 bags
Zone 3 = 7 bags
Zone 4 = 6.5 bags
Zone 5 = 5.5 bags
Total for Week 10 = 34.25 bags
Grand Total since June 1 = 384.25 –not including large items that do not fit into trash bags.

Trash vs. Treasure
Many of you reported observing a very high tide line this week and with that came lots and lots and lots of cigarette butts, bottle caps, and random little plastic pieces that the ocean spit onto our shore. Thank you for taking the time to retrieve as much of these items as you did.

Some of you continue to comment that the trash is better, but the holes are much worse. In fact, large holes were reported in every zone. On Wednesday morning—which is actually week 11—I found a hole that must have been a close cousin to the Grand Canyon .

Zone 0:
Vickie found a frisbee and Anne Marie found a handheld fishing net. Together, these items could provide for a day of endless fun!

Zone 1:
Dick and Linda found a full-sized gold shovel. I guess those full-sized shovels are more efficient than the small plastic shovels when you are digging to China.

Kim Meyer found denture adhesive, but no teeth attached. If you remember, Kim also found a dreadlock earlier this year with no man attached. Wonder if the denture adhesive would work on dreadlocks? Hmm…

Zone 4:
Melanie reports that Zone 4 continues to be littered with fireworks remnants in front of the Blockade Runner. Hopefully the people who are illegally setting off fireworks on the beach will begin to pick up the litter. At this point, there is no telling how many of those plastic shells have been buried beneath the sand.

Zone 5:
Chuck found a youth Schwinn bike helmet complete with fishing line attached. Not to worry, he will be donating this item to a very happy kid.

Page found a mess, and I do mean "a big mess", of fishing line tied to the post in the bird sanctuary of Zone 5. It was unbelievable and had to be cut free with a knife.

Also in Zone 5 were the chairs from the Oceanic scattered along the tide line. Joy even found one of these chairs all the way down at Access 39. To view a photo showing just how dangerous beach furniture can be to sea turtles, click on the following link:
http://research.myfwc.com/gallery/image_details.asp?id=10958
Please keep in mind that this is not the only incident of a turtle being entangled or caught in beach furniture. It’s sad, really.

The Indian Ocean
We know that there have been plastic garbage patches found floating in the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans, but now there is evidence of a plastic patch in the Indian Ocean as well.

I strongly urge you to click on the link below to read more about this issue. You will find a picture of a child playing on a beach completely covered in trash. It is very difficult to clean plastic out of the ocean, as it breaks down into tiny pieces, never truly going away, only getting smaller and smaller so that marine life cannot help but ingest it. The only real solution, as pointed out in this article, is to clean trash from the beach as soon as possible and to reduce our consumption of plastic or REFUSE plastic altogether. http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/stories/new-ocean-garbage-patch-discovered#

Also, share this information with your friends and family. The more people are educated, the better and sooner people will begin to change their consumer patterns. I cringe thinking that if humans continue on their current path, all the world's beaches could one day resemble the beach in this photo. It is too much for even one beach to be in this condition. It is too much for even one child to play on a beach that is littered with plastic and other debris.

A Blog You Will Want to Read
I was introduced to the following blog by a volunteer with Surfrider Foundation. The blog is posted by a local lady who has made it her mission to help get cigarettes banned on WB. She and her three children are collecting litter for 20 minutes, two days a week on WB. In just two days, or 40 minutes, they collected 543 cigarette butts. This lady is a new inspiration for me. To follow her blog, visit:
 http://itstartswithme-danielle.blogspot.com/
She also includes other valuable information about litter and environmental issues. You will want to view the video of the Albatross. I will warn you that the video is very disturbing and many of you have viewed similar videos before, but it is a true reminder of why it is so important for us to tirelessly advocate for a cleaner beach.
Events at WB
Beach Cleanup at Wrightsville Beach, Saturday, Aug. 14, at 4 p.m.
CFCC Green Building Club has adopted Beach Access 16 (Johnnie Mercer’s Pier) at Wrightsville Beach. Last month they collected 80 pounds of trash. Please join them at their next cleanup this weekend. They will be meeting in the shade at the entrance to the pier. Bags and gloves will be provided.
*If you decide to join this event, you may want to wear your WBSTP t-shirt.

Vito's and Trashy Talking Turtlers
Monday, Aug. 16, at 7 p.m. at the Vito's Picnic area.
Vito's and John Marcucci will host a pizza party for the WBSTP. This will be a great time to bring any flip flops that you have not yet recycled. We will be collecting the flip flops to send to families in other countries who are unable to afford shoes.
*If you plan to attend this event, please contact Ginger Taylor by Friday.

Wednesday, August 4, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Week 9

Trashy Talking Turtlers

Week 9: July 26 – Aug. 1, 2010

Hey Trashy Talking Turtlers,
The Mother Turtles have found us! Now, if they would only leave a nest…
Don’t' they know how hard we have been working to make sure that they and their hatchlings will have a clean beach in which to return to nest again? Keep sending all of your positive thoughts out to those sea turtles.
Speaking of a clean beach, below are this week’s numbers:

Week 9:
We picked up trash in 17 of the 42 zones (40%)
Zone 0 = 2.25 bags
Zone 1 = 4 bags
Zone 2 = 5 bags
Zone 3 = 2 bags
Zone 4 = 4 bags
Zone 5 = 9.5 bags
Total for Week 9 = 26.75 bags

Grand Total since June 1 = 348.5 bags—not including large items that do not fit into bags.

Trash vs. Treasure/Trashy Trends
Here are some of your comments from this week:

From Zone 0 (which tends to be one of the cleanest zones):

Wonders never cease, we did not find the first scrap of trash this morning. I guess we have trained our users well. -Abrons and Doss

Hi Ginger,
I walked through Zone 0 this morning and it was very clean. There were some cigarette buts and a couple plastic bags near the garbage can. No treasures today, except seeing the sun and the moon out together. -Thanks for all of your hard work, Christie

From Zone 1:

We had a banner Monday in Zone 1. Only two grocery bags of trash! However, we pulled two and a half umbrellas out of the surf as well as one tented shelter. Felt energetic, so removed two more tented shelters and pulled them up to the trash. It was a fun Monday. –Regards, Dick and Linda

From Zone 2:

Hi Ginger,
I collected three bags of trash from Zone 2, the usual. I focused on plastics and Styrofoam, mostly, and left the biodegradable stuff. So, I didn't pick up cigarettes, but I did pick up those that had the plastic mouthpieces.
There were a lot of flip-flops today. I've decided to give them all to the place that sends them to Africa even if they are not in pairs. They way they described it is that the people there have nothing to wear on their feet. So, two unmatched shoes are better than nothing. I collected six pairs today and a couple of single shoes. I also found a lighter, two Chapsticks, two towels and a couple of t-shirts. There was also a large plastic pail and several assorted shovels. Some college kids were visiting the beach from South Carolina and they were so excited to be here that they were asking a lot of questions about turtles, jellyfish and shells. As I was leaving, I brought the shovels and pail next to a garbage can to leave in case anyone wanted them; one of the kids asked if it was OK if he used it. It got recycled right there, on the spot! There was also one new item: a carpenter's hammer that I haven't seen before. I couldn't find any evidence of a carpenter, though!
There were also quite a few people on the beach this morning. A handful asked what I was doing. It was nice having the chance to tell them about the turtles and the effect our trash has on them. Another handful of people had brought their own bags and were picking up trash along with their shells. One woman said she wished there were as many collectible shells as there were bits of trash. -Renee

From Zone 3:

Hi Ginger,
Oh, I wanted to find turtle tracks this morning! But alas, no tracks.
On a brighter note, litter was not so bad today. I collected two bags in Zone 3. It was mostly plastic water bottles and soda cans; there was nothing major in terms of trash. One thing I did come across, however, was a t-shirt balled up right on the shoreline with the waves gently nudging it. When I picked up the tee shirt, it felt unusually heavy. So I gave it a shake, and a wallet and Blackberry fell out! Fortunately, I was able to find the owner via Facebook. Thank goodness for the internet!
This morning was a very pleasant one on the beach. There were many beautiful seashells, and the breeze was—dare I say—a bit cool. Yet I am still hoping for those elusive tracks. -Susan Miller

From Zone 5 (One of the trashiest zones):

I collected one bag of trash on July 28, which was mostly filled with plastic bottles. Additionally, there was a truck tire that floated ashore and had been pushed above the high-tide line. The city has seen it because there were beach patrol tire tracks near the tire. -Chuck

Ginger,
It was a cleaner beach today. I only picked up one full bag, with a lot of plastic tops and straws. There were also the usual odds and ends of shoes, toys, etc. The number of cigarette butts seemed to have tripled since the beginning of the summer. Once again, there was a lot of trash from the Oceanic. I wish we could get them to do a patrol at the end of the night. Also, I did not see any dogs, but I did see two sets of dog tracks. Have a good weekend. -Joy

Hi Ginger,
Yesterday I picked up one and a half bags of trash and one bag of recyclables and sand toys in Zone 5. The most unusual of it was a Barbie shoe. Thanks. -Kym

Inspiration From Bobby Brandon
If you did not read the Lumina News this week, you will want to click on this link to read how Bobby Brandon is tackling the litter problem head-on: http://www.luminanews.com/article.asp?aid=6706&iid=231&sud=30
Every Monday morning, Bobby takes to the streets of WB to clean up litter. And boy is he serious! He loads his truck with a heavy-duty broom, work gloves and garbage bags. According to the article, Mr. Brandon believes each person needs to do their part and not just depend upon the town to clean up the litter.

You Are Being Heard, Or At Least Read
I know some of you may wonder how many people are listening and how much of a difference we are making. I often wonder the same thing. However, I want you to know that you are making a difference and people are taking note.
I saw Mayor Cignotti a few weeks ago when he was wearing a WBSTP shirt and he commented on your work. Alderman Bill Sisson and Mayor Pro-tem Bill Blair have both commented on your work during the Cleaner Greener Committee meetings. Alderman Lisa Weeks often uses our newsletter to address WB businesses on ways they can help alleviate some of the litter patterns that you have observed on your morning walks. Alderman Susan Collins has commented on your work and states that she, too, picks up litter on the beach.
Your work is very much appreciated and your observations are helpful in providing data and evidence on the need for change. Thank you for all you are doing.

The Next 30 Years
As many of you know, WB has an "anti-litter" committee called the WB Cleaner Greener Committee. This committee is charged with providing recommendations and solutions to improve the litter situation at WB. I believe this is a positive step, and the committee members all seem passionate about their responsibility.

However, I found it interesting to learn that the town of WB also had a similar committee in 1980, called the Wrightsville Beach Clean Community Committee. Perhaps that committee was successful, yet things have changed so much that there is once again the need for new committee. So now, in addition to WB’s current issues, today’s committee is also examining the issues that we faced 30 years ago.

Looking back on the littering laws of 30 years ago, litter was illegal then and is still illegal today. Education has worked to the point that nearly everyone in our country knows that littering is illegal. (Remember the commercial: "Give a hoot, don't pollute") Maybe we can educate on just how detrimental litter is to our environment and our quality of life. Maybe enforcement will help to further the education. While I don't know all of the answers, I am sure the committee members will have much to discuss.

I do know that in the next 30 years, I would like to see a positive change in the litter problem at WB and around the world. But if things don’t improve, we can use the Trashy Talking Turtlers' 2009 and 2010 data as a guideline to see just how bad things might be for our children and grandchildren:

14,220 bags of trash, not including all of the random large items that do not fit into bags. (And this is only litter collected during 3 months of the year by WBSTP at 474 bags/yr. for 30 years.)

5,400,000 cigarette butts (which is a very conservative estimate based on 3 month/year for 30 years.)

If we have a nest this year, and a female from that nest is lucky enough to survive, she will be ready to nest on WB in about 30 years. But, will WB be ready for her? I sure hope so.

Wednesday, July 28, 2010

Trashy Talking Turtlers: Week 8

Trashy Talking Turtlers

Week 8: July 19 - July 25

Hola, Trashy Talking Turtlers!
You have been very busy collecting trash and reporting your finds, so I will get straight to the numbers.

Numbers for Week 8:
We picked up trash in 20 of the 42 zones (47 percent)
Zone 0 = 3.25 bags
Zone 1 = 5.5 bags
Zone 2 = 2 bags
Zone 3 = 6 bags
Zone 4 = 7.5 bags
Zone 5 = 7 bags
Total for Week 8 = 31.25 bags

Grand Total since June 1 = 318.5 bags of trash (Not including large items that do not fit into trash bags.) Wow! That is an accomplishment!

Trash or Treasure
No one reported much in the way of treasures this week, except for a couple of skim boards, hats and towels. However, several of you commented that you believe the litter is better than it has been. This is great news. But after pulling last year's numbers, we are nearly equal with 2009 reports. For week 8 in 2009, we had collected 32.41 bags; and our grand total at that point was 313.636 bags. So, perhaps there is a trend as the Independence Holiday winds down.

Did someone say Johnnie Mercer’s Pier was unlittered?
On Monday, July 19, both Renee and Doug Beach—a true advocate for clean beaches who picks up trash every day—agreed the beach in Zone 2, near Johnnie Mercer’s Pier, was relatively "unlittered.” Impressively, July 19 was the day after the Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest, and I do believe that people help clean the beach after the event. However, Susan Miller picked up trash in Zone 3 around Johnnie Mercer’s Pier on Friday, July 23, and here are her comments:

Hi Ginger,
My trash total for Friday, July 23, was 2 bags from zone 3. I felt very encouraged after yesterday's walk. There was much, much less trash than I found 2 weeks ago. On July 9, I was so grossed out and discouraged by the amount of trash on the beach. That day, I collected an entire bag filled only with glass bottles. But yesterday, I did not find any glass bottles at all. Most of the litter appeared to be accidental, such as sand toys, the occasional beach towel, and one stray flip flop. The only litter I gathered yesterday that really concerned me were four large—and rather dangerous looking—metal tent spikes.
To be able to say that Johnnie Mercer’s Pier is "unlittered" should be celebrated. Cheers! I sure hope this happens again and again and again.

Crystal Pier and Shell Island
Unfortunately, Vicki, Joy and Page did not have the same elated feeling at Shell Island and Crystal Pier this week as Renee and Susan had at Johnnie Mercer’s. Here are their comments:

Hi Ginger,
For this Tuesday, Zone 0, I picked up 1.5 bags of trash including a skim board and single boat shoe.
Incidentally, there were 9 huge holes in the sand in front of Shell Island, the most I have ever seen. I always try to fill in the small ones but these were very large and there were so many. It is really a shame the Shell Islanders don't seem to understand the turtle message.

Hi Ginger,
The zone was quiet today. Only one bag and it was mostly bottle caps and bottles, although there were a lot of cigarettes and cigars with the plastic mouthpieces. No holes and no canopies. There was also a dog with its owner, and after I explained that there was a $250 fine, he left the beach. I saw additional dog tracks between accesses 40 and 39. Most of the trash was around the Oceanic and included a lot of their coasters and napkins. Their plastic chairs are also littering the beach.

Hi Ginger,
Got one bag of trash, which I picked up from the high tide line only, with the exception of Crystal Pier—which was horrendous. Nancy Faye and I both spent a lot of time there picking up straws, etc.
There were 8 chairs off the pier sitting at the high tide line. Do the night patrols not see this, or if they do, is it not their job to pull them back? I only saw one large hole.
A lady asked me if I'd found any big shells when I was finishing my walk. I explained I had trash, not shells, and that I had found plenty! Her friend said, "I bet."

Jennifer O'Keefe and Bonnie Monteleone
If you were able to read the Trashy Talking Turtlers newsletters last year, you will remember that Jennifer O'Keefe, from Keep America Beautiful, and Bonnie Monteleone, a University of North Carolina Wilmington student, sailed to Bermuda to study the "Atlantic Garbage Patch.” Bonnie also spent six weeks with Captain Charlie Moore in 2009 studying the "Pacific Garbage Patch."
Well, these two ladies are at it again. They just returned from a sailing trip in which they are studied the accumulated plastic just off our coast in the Atlantic Ocean. You can read about some of their adventures on their blog, http://theplasticocean.blogspot.com/.

A Ship Made From Plastic Bottles
Well, I have heard of "a ship in a bottle," but this is the first time I have heard of a ship made from recycled plastic bottles. Visit http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/07/25/tech/main6712685.shtml to read about a crew who made a ship largely from 12,500 plastic bottles and sailed 8,000 nautical miles across the Pacific Ocean for four months. The crew did it to raise awareness for how plastic affects our oceans and to encourage people to recycle. Visit their website to learn the many ways in which they practiced being "green" while at sea.
This story encourages me. Although I would never want to sail a ship made of plastic bottles, I can certainly join in raising awareness by picking plastic up from our beaches while searching for sea turtle tracks.
Who's Who at the Wrightsville Beach Mullet Run
The first annual Wrightsville Beach Mullet Run (a stand-up paddleboard race) took place last weekend to benefit Surfers Healing and the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. Among those in attendance at the awards ceremony held at Wrightsville Beach park were our very own Nancy Faye and Jean Beasley. The ceremony included food and a raffle. One of the most coveted prizes was a large stuffed sea turtle, named Rain in memory of an injured sea turtle, donated by Jean Beasley.

For The Sea Turtles
Sometimes, I become very disheartened and frustrated with the current nesting situation. Although I remain hopeful that WB will host a nesting turtle this year, I am beginning to wonder if it will actually happen. Every week as I search for the elusive sea turtle tracks, I find glistening pieces of plastic instead. I begin to feel frustrated.
But, then I remember. Even though the sea turtles are not nesting on WB, they are still nesting. So far, there are at least 680 nests in NC this year according to http://www.seaturtle.org/. That is good news and I am happy for the turtles! I also remember that even though I am not finding tracks, I am helping by picking up trash. This, too, is a good thing for the sea turtles.
I hope, with all of my heart, that you will find tracks—especially the new volunteers—and that you get to watch a nest boil this year. There is nothing like it in the world. Regardless, I am happy that each of you are of such spirit that you continue to protect the sea turtles. Because of people like you, the turtles have a better chance of survival. So, please keep doing what you do and know that eventually the sea turtle will reward you. Who knows…it may even be tonight!

I will close with a quote from a sea turtle website:
"We can share beaches and ocean with sea turtles but it requires commitment and effort on our part. We can make certain that future generations will have the opportunity to know these unusual animals. The late Dr. Archie Carr, a scientist and author who almost singlehandedly began to turn the tide on the extinction of sea turtles, summed it up when he wrote, ‘For most of the wild things on earth, the future must depend upon the conscience of mankind.’ Our planet has come to an unprecedented point in its history where the actions of one species—man—will determine the fate of life on earth. It is not too late to ensure a future for sea turtles." -Victoria B. Van Meter, Florida's Sea Turtles

Wednesday, July 21, 2010

Wrightsville Beach Trashy Talking Turtlers Week 7

July 12 - July 18
Here is a shout out to all of you Trashy Talking Turtlers!
I can not believe all of the work that you have been doing for the past 7+ weeks. Here are your numbers:
Totals for Week 7:
We picked up trash in 19 of the 42 zones (45 percent)
Zone 0 = 8.5 bags
Zone 1 = 1.5 bags
Zone 2 = 9.75 bags
Zone 3 = 5 bags
Zone 4 = 5.5 bags
Zone 5 = 7.5 bags
Total for Week 7 = 37.75 bags
Grand Total = 284.25 (and always this does not include all of the beach towels, chairs, broken boogie boards and other random items that are too large for the bags.)

Trash vs. Treasure
I am pasting some of your e-mails here that represent the activity that we are finding on the beach. Please note that Terri and John Littlejohn's report includes some of those large random items that don't get included in our total numbers because we do not convert these items into bags. I wonder how many bags we would have if we did convert this type of litter into numbers of bags – hmmm…

Zone 1 had a large number of trash items this morning, more than I've ever seen before. There were six broken chairs, two quilts and two towels—all non-salvageable. Plus, one medium-sized garden-type shovel.
John Littlejohn

Morgan and I collected about 6 grocery-sized bags today in Zone 0. We collected two bags of traditional trash—these contained cigarette butts, straws, plastic straw covers, one flip flop, one water shoe, one belt (weird), several plastic water bottles, a few beer cans and fabric softener sheets.

The majority of the bulk was due to the remains of what looked like an after-hours wedding party in front of Shell Island Resort. There was a bow tie, a receipt for a tux rental and a beer can with a coozie that told the bride and groom's name with date of 7/17/2010. There was one full six pack of beer (complete with cardboard carrier), two empty cans of store-bought boiled peanuts, and about a case of empty beer cans (and cardboard case) plus several empty beer bottles. There were cigarette butts and cigarette packages as well. We left behind a broken Styrofoam cooler, several full beer cans and an attachment into which I am guessing an umbrella is placed. We just couldn't carry them all to the trash.
No tracks :(
Talk to you soon,
Kathleen

Zone 2 on Thursday was loaded with cigarette butts. Hundreds. We collected half of a 13-gallon bag. Lots of drink bottles. Also, there is more and more evidence of dogs on the beach.
Thanks,
Richard

I subbed for Page in Zone 5 this morning.
Lots of trash—we picked up 4 bags and could have done much more. Around Oceanic it was a mess, trash cans overflowing, and it almost looked like people just dropped trash from the Oceanic outdoor dining area. Picked up lots of Styrofoam plates around Oceanic; a lot of beer cans and bottles near the inlet, one unopened Bud Light; whoever played volleyball down near there had Jersey Mike’s for dinner last night and left all the wrappings—apparently for the whole team. Left a small life jacket and some sunglasses on the beach as there were surfers out who may have (hopefully) been the owners. A few holes but not bad. Large dog tracks.
Julie Nichols

This week's Lumina News
I picked up a Lumina News last Thursday and was thrilled after reading it. Not because the Trashy Talking Turtlers were mentioned in the "My Thoughts" section (although that was pretty cool), but because of a little five-year-old girl named Kirra who is afraid that the sea turtles will choke from all the cigarettes on the beach. If you have not read this article, you will really want to—you will fall in love with this little girl and what seems to be her innate passion to make the Earth a cleaner place. Here is the link: http://www.luminanews.com/article.asp?aid=6649&iid=229&sud=42
As I said last week, you have to love the next generation – they just may change the world!!!

Reduce Plastic Consumption
A picture is worth a thousand words!
Although recycling is wonderful, we all know that we should reduce our plastic consumption. Here is a slide show of what a recycling plant looks like. If you were not convinced to reduce your consumption before watching this slide show, you probably will be convinced after watching it. It is pretty unreal how much trash we produce. One quote on the slide show is that Americans dispose of 2.5 million plastic bottles every hour and we make 750,000 photocopies every minute of every day. Here is the link: http://www.good.is/post/picture-show-waste-management

Guess Who was Caught Wearing a WBSTP T-Shirt????
Mayor David Cignotti was caught sporting a WBSTP Logo T-shirt at the Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest on Sunday! I must say, the shirt looked great! Thank you Mayor Cignotti!

Events At WB
On Saturday, July 24, there will be a ''Mullet Run" which is a combination of running and paddle boarding. This is the first competition of its kind at WB. The funds raised from the event will benefit Surfer’s Healing an event during which surfers help children, who have been diagnosed with autism, take to the waves. The other charity that will benefit from this event is the Karen Beasley Sea Turtle Hospital. You can read about the event in Lumina News or click on this link: http://www.luminanews.com/article.asp?aid=6644&iid=229&sud=43

Thanks for all you do.
I sure hope a mother sea turtle visits us tonight!

Thursday, July 15, 2010

Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project Trashy Talking Turtlers Week 6

July 5 - July 11 (Fireworks)

Helloooo Trashy Talking Turtlers,
Here are your numbers:
Week 6:
We picked up trash in 16 of the 42 zones (38 percent)
Zone 0 = 5.5 bags
Zone 1 = 12.5 bags
Zone 2 = 8.25 bags
Zone 3 = 3 bags
Zone 4 = 6 bags
Zone 5 = 4 bags
Total for Week 6 = 39.25 bags

Grand Total since June 1 = 245.50 bags! (and as always this does not include all of the beach towels, chairs, boogie boards, and other random items that are too large for the bags.)

Trash vs. Treasure
Anne Marie went shopping in Zone 0 and found four shirts, a pair of shorts, pant legs (oddly enough just the pant legs . . . not the full pants!), a beach hat, beach towel, cooler, used firecrackers--not a bad shopping day at all!
Dick and Linda had their daughter and grandchildren join them to pick up 8.5 bags of trash including a $1 bill a quarter and a pair of sunglasses.
Susan found a nice pair of sneakers in Zone 3. She gave them to someone who appeared to be homeless and he followed her the rest of the way and professed his love for her. Although Susan admits this was a bit awkward, she felt he was quite harmless. Everyone says that the way to a man's heart is through his stomach, but maybe you just need to give him a pair of gently used shoes!
Renee met two little boys who were here on vacation who spent their mornings cleaning up WB—you have to love the next generation, they just may change the world!
In general, most of you are continuing to collect trash that is made from plastic, cigarette butts and fireworks remnants. Several of you commented about how many cigarette butts you saw on the beach this week.
And, there is still dog poop being found in Zone 4.

Fireworks and the Blockade Runner and Zone 4
I like fireworks on the 4th of July. I usually go downtown every year to see them. I think Wilmington has an excellent display and it has become part of my tradition to celebrate Independence Day.
However, I don't like firework remnants on the beach. John and I monitor Zone 4 every Wednesday and for the past three weeks, we have found an exceptionally large amount of firework remnants throughout the zone, but heavily concentrated in front of the Blockade Runner. I always walk up to the volley ball court in front of the Blockade Runner because someone usually leaves plastic straws, cup lids or plastic bottles there. However, for the past three weeks, this area is completely littered with fireworks; so much so, that I can't pick it all up in the amount of time I have to monitor the beach before we go to work.
This week (which is actually Week 7, but I thought I would include it here anyway) was especially horrible. I actually gave up and declared that there was no way to collect it all and began muddling over how I should approach this problem and how to be diplomatic. Fortunately, I did not have to muddle long because I saw Shannon Slocum, WB Park Ranger, driving down the beach. I flagged him down and voiced my concerns. He did drive over to the volley ball court and checked out the scene and stated he would mention this to the Blockade Runner staff. I hope this helps because I was very disheartened yesterday and it was hard to feel positive about the situation.
Some people may wonder what the big deal is; after all, it is just fireworks. Well, besides being disruptive if turtles do nest on the beach, fireworks’ casings contains plastic and sometimes the whole casing is plastic! Not only is the casing made of plastic, but even the cardboard casings have compartments at the base of the shell that contain materials to propel the fireworks, and these compartments contain plastic parts as well. I cannot tell you how many of those exploded plastic casings I have picked up in Zone 4 and there are many, many more left to be picked up or to be washed out to sea! I really hope that the Blockade Runner will discourage their guests from using fireworks; and I also hope they will help clean up this area of the beach.
By the way, as we all know, it is illegal to have fireworks in N.C.; so there is room for enforcement.

Holes
There continue to be very large holes on the beach. As we have mentioned before, this is dangerous to humans as well as sea turtles. Although WB has ordinances about filling in holes before leaving the beach, this ordinance seems to be greatly ignored. Oak Island just passed an ordinance this week about filling in holes before leaving the beach. WECT TV also ran a segment this week proclaiming holes to be among the five most dangerous things at the beach since many people do not see them as they are walking along the beach and often become injured as they stumble into the holes. Please be careful out there and watch your step.

Events at WB
The Reef/Sweetwater Pro-Am Surf Fest contest will be held at WB this weekend. If you like surfing this is a great event to attend. During the event, at 10:30 on Saturday, there will be a Kids Beach Sweep. Again, you have to love the next generation because they just may change the world!

Sea Turtles and Boomballatti's
If you have not visited Boomballatti's Ice Cream Shop located in The Forum, you are really missing out on yummy homemade ice cream. The shop is locally owned and operated by Kevin and Michelle who happen to love the sea turtles! They have even allowed WBSTP to have a donation box in their shop which has helped us raise quite a bit of money for education and rescue purposes.
If you like ice cream, you will love Boomballatti's and you just may find Kevin sporting a WBSTP hat!
Thank you Boomballatti's!

Thank you Trashy Talking Turtlers for making our Planet a better place!
Happy Turtling!
Ginger

Friday, July 9, 2010

Wrightsville Beach Sea Turtle Project Trashy Talking Turtlers Week 5

Week 5: June 28 - July 4, 2010 -- "Making a Difference"

Aloha Trashy Talking Turtlers,
We made it through the Fourth of July, but the turtles must still be on vacation! Maybe they will return to WB this week!
Even if the turtles are on vacation, we have not been. WBSTP volunteers remain very dedicated to picking up trash and keeping our beach clean and safe for both sea turtles and visiting humans. Below are your results:

Week 5:
We picked up trash in 18 of the 42 zones (42.85 percent)
Zone 0 = 2.5 bags
Zone 1 = 4 bags
Zone 2 = 5 bags
Zone 3 = 10 bags (this was all in one day)
Zone 4 = 7 bags
Zone 5 = 9.25 bags
Total for Week 5 = 37.75 bags

Grand Total since June 1 = 206.25 bags! (and as always this does not include all of the beach towels, chairs and other random items that are too large for the bags.)

More Numbers:
I have been thinking more about the 176 cigarette butts that Susan Miller picked up last week and I tallied some numbers.

If we collected 176 butts in each zone (I'm sure there are actually a lot more) that would equal 1,056 butts per day, or 7,392 butts per week, or 29,568 butts per month, or 88,704 butts per summer (or 3 months). Just something to ponder.

Staying Positive and What Can We Do With All of Those Flip Flops?
Although it can be a challenge to remain positive when we have not yet found a sea turtle nest on WB, many of you continue to do so. Renee has even found some benefits to picking up cigarette butts and has researched what we can do with all of those flip flops:

Hi Ginger,
I can't believe it's Week 5 already!
I picked up about 4 bags of trash made up of the usual stuff. Lots of cigarette butts. They may not fill up too many bags, but you have to squat each time you pick one up. Kudos to Susan Miller who did it 176 times! I wonder if picking up butts is good exercise for one’s but(tocks) . . . hmmm.
Found lots of flip flops this week—two pairs and thre loners. Also found one of those flipper things that people wear on their feet when they scuba dive. I know there's a name for them just can't think of it at the moment.Also, a little girl’s bathing suit and several T-shirts in assorted sizes.
Lots of evidence of fruit too—apples, oranges, bananas, grapes—well at least litterers are eating some healthy food along with their chips, candy, sodas, beers and juicy juice.
You know sometimes when you're picking up bags of trash you can't help but wonder how people can be so inconsiderate. But I was out on the beach yesterday (strictly pleasure) and when you see how many people use our beaches, and how many things they bring with them, it is amazing how little is left behind. When you also consider that a lot of what is left behind is accidental (who would intentionally leave their monogrammed towel, their lip gloss or their fake breast), it seems that most people are conscientious about keeping the beach clean. We're just getting the stuff that slips through the cracks.
Oh, one more thing . . I found a day care center that was thrilled to get all the plastic toys I've found on the beach. They also liked all the T-shirts - they can use them as smocks or when some little campers spill juice on themselves. So, maybe people can look for day care centers near where they live.
The Flip Flop Store in Independence Mall will recycle pairs of flip flops. They box them up and send them to countries in which people literally have nothing to wear on their feet...so as long as they will stay on someone’s feet - they are accepted. I also found a place that will take a single flip flop even if it is not part of a pair: Unique Eco Designs. They are in Nairobi, Kenya and they provide jobs to women and children to help support their local economy. They also donate 9 percent of the profits to charity. Hansen's Surf Shop in San Diego, Calif. is also an official collection site for Unique Eco Designs. Here's what they say: "...we are StyleSubstanceSole --oops, Soul....we live in...the land of flip flops - what better place to make a real impact? We could actually help reduce landfills one flip flop at a time."
Not sure how much any of thiscosts....but if we collect enough and send them in bulk . . .?

All for this week.
Renee

I think it would be a great idea to recycle our found pairs of flip flops at the Flip Flop Store. I didn't even know this store existed! I can't think of a more wonderful way to recycle flip flops than to send them to people who have no way of obtaining shoes on their own. If you guys want to do this individually or organize this as a group, I will be happy to help. Also, if you want to save your single flip flops to send to the store in Calif., I can look more into this. We can use flat rate shipping boxes and it likely will not cost that much if we do it collectively. Please let me know by e-mail if you would like to take part in this. Thanks Renee. What a great resource.

Trash vs. Treasure:
You guys reported the usual trash and treasures left behind this week, but a whole bag of used fireworks was collected in Zone 4 by the Blockade Runner. Dogs also roam free in Zone 4 as dog poop is usually reported in this zone several times a week. You did find more structures/tents left on the beach and also numerous large holes. One hole in Zone 1 actually had an orange caution cone in it. Page was subbing in Zone 1 when she found the hole and sent a picture to my cell phone with the question: why didn't they just fill it in? Well, that is a very good question; and one that I do not know the answer to....one more thing to ponder.

Masonboro.org
Masonboro.org is an organization that is dedicated to keeping the island free of trash while also advocating for the island to remain open to the public. They were very successful in raising awareness and protecting the island from litter invasion over the holiday weekend. My hat is off to them for making such a difference! Please read the article about Masonboro.org posted in the Lumina News. You can read it online at luminanews.com or you can buy the paper for only a quarter.

Trashy Talking Turtlers and Lumina News:
Lumina News has posted a blog on-line for WBSTP News. As of this week, you can find copies of the Trashy Talking Turtlers Newsletters on their blog site. To view, just go to luminanews.com and click on the Sea Turtle Project blog. I think it is wonderful that the town and the local paper are supportive of the sea turtles and our efforts to protect them and our environment.

Making a Difference:
Brenda and Frank Weaver picked up trash in Zone 1 and Frank found a star fish that was still alive. Of course, being gentle and kind like WBSTP volunteers are, he placed it back into the ocean. It reminded me of the following story:

Once upon a time, there was a wise man who used to go to the ocean to do his writing. He had a habit of walking on the beach before he began his work.

One day, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance to the day, and so, he walked faster to catch up.

As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?" asked the somewhat startled wise man.

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the wise man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "I made a difference to that one!"

WBSTP volunteers are all making a difference. Whether you monitor the beach for tracks, pick up litter, educate the public, or help rescue a sea turtle (or any other animal), you are all making a difference one step at a time. Many times your actions influence others to change and many of you share stories of other people picking up trash because they see you doing it. This effect could be exponentially great for our planet! I am so proud to be a part of a group of such caring individuals.

Hope you find a nest this week!

Ginger